


Tony's Arm Itched

by Wonderlandgirl



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Hurt Tony Stark, Loss of Limbs, M/M, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Past Pepper Potts/Tony Stark, Post-Avengers: Endgame (Movie), Slice of Life, Tony Stark Lives, Tony Stark Needs a Hug
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-27
Updated: 2020-12-27
Packaged: 2021-03-10 03:07:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,130
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27706691
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wonderlandgirl/pseuds/Wonderlandgirl
Summary: Tony’s arm itched.Tony could feel the itch. It roved up and down his arm, from his fingertips to his shoulder. It was driving him mad. He just couldn’t scratch it. Every time he tried, he was graphically reminded of the fact that he couldn’t, that his arm simply wasn’t there any more. That he had saved the world, but it had cost him.
Relationships: Steve Rogers/Tony Stark
Comments: 24
Kudos: 69
Collections: 2020 Captain America/Iron Man Holiday Exchange





	Tony's Arm Itched

**Author's Note:**

  * For [HogwartsToAlexandria](https://archiveofourown.org/users/HogwartsToAlexandria/gifts).



> This is set post Endgame where Tony Lives, but loses his arm. It is slightly canon divergent in the fact that Tony and Pepper were together & still had Morgan. However, they split at some point, and co-parent, but Tony and Steve are now married. This is snippets of Tony dealing with the loss of his arm.
> 
> Based on this prompt: Tony deals with the loss of his arm post-EG.
> 
> Thank you to my beta ChocolateCapCookie for looking it over!

_Tony’s arm itched._

Tony could feel the itch. It roved up and down his arm, from his fingertips to his shoulder. It was driving him mad. He just couldn’t scratch it. Every time he tried, he was graphically reminded of the fact that he couldn’t, that his arm simply wasn’t there any more. That he had saved the world, but it had cost him.

  
  


_Tony’s arm itched._

Tony didn’t know how long he had been in his workshop. He couldn’t see the look in everyone's faces, couldn’t face the judgement & disgust when they looked at him. 

F.R.I.D.A.Y managed to make the windows opaque without being reflective. No-one could look in, and he couldn’t see himself. He could hear muffled voices talking outside, but didn’t pay them any attention. Curled up in a ball on his couch, his focus was turned inwards. 

  
  


_Tony’s arm itched._

  
  


Steve rested his forehead against the blacked-out windows of the lab, trying to get through to his husband again. He filled Tony in on how Morgan and Pepper were (Pepper said co-parenting without the co-parent was stressful, even if Steve’s step-daughter was the sweetest little girl around), how the recovery efforts were going (slowly), how the world was starting to adjust after everything that had happened (“not great” might have been the correct words to sum that up). 

“Papa Steve,” a plaintive little voice drifted up to him, “When is Daddy going to come out of his workshop?”

Steve bent down to scoop Morgan up, and gave one last mournful look at the windows over her head, before turning and walking away. “I’m sure we will be able to get him to come out soon sweetheart,” he said, trying to believe his own words, and set about trying to distract her and cheer her up. 

  
  
  


_Tony’s arm itched._

Tony had finally fallen into a fitful sleep when F.R.I.D.A.Y took matters into her own metaphorical hands. She could see Steve sitting outside, leaning on the door, dozing. He was often there, when he wasn’t looking after Morgan, while Pepper tried to manage SI through the aftermath of everything.

She unlocked the door, the click of it jolting Steve awake enough that when the door opened, he didn’t fall backwards. Steve jumped up, heading straight to his husband, gathering him in his arms.

Lifting him gently, he carried him to their room and laid him on the bed. He stripped Tony efficiently, ducked into the bathroom to wet a washcloth, and wiped Tony down where he could to help him freshen up a bit, and then dried him off and slipped him between the blankets. 

Once that was done, he set some water, and a few nutritious, easy-to-eat snacks next to the bed, ready for the morning.

He got himself ready for bed and joined his husband. As much as he wanted to, he didn’t spoon Tony, as he didn’t want to smother him, but when Tony shifted in his sleep into Steve's space, he gladly wrapped Tony securely in his arms. 

  
  
  


_Tony’s arm itched._

When Tony woke up, warm and snug and comfortable with Steve, he reveled in it. He forgot for a brief moment, why he hadn’t been able to have this for so long, until he tried to reach up to brush Steve’s hair out of his face, and it all came flooding back. He could practically feel what his arm was meant to do, could feel the texture of Steve’s skin, and the comparative roughness of the beard he was re-growing. Except he _couldn’t_!

Tony sat up abruptly, and his balance was immediately affected, listing to the left as his body tried to compensate for weight that just wasn’t on the right side anymore.

  
  
  
  


_Tony’s arm itched._

Steve had woken up when Tony’s breathing had changed and his movement increased, but he kept his eyes closed, enjoying having Tony where he belonged. However, when Tony had gasped and sat up with a snap, only to immediately start tilting over, Steve was able to sit up and catch him, being careful where he placed his hands.

Steve drew Tony back to his chest, and though Tony struggled briefly, he soon sunk into his husband's embrace, his head tucked into Steve’s neck, though he was still tense.

Steve didn’t say anything when he felt his neck grow wet with silent tears. 

  
  
  


_Tony’s arm itched._

Rhodey encouraged him (or threatened to kick his arse with his leg braces) to talk to a therapist, to see if Sam had a recommendation from his VA days, talk to Bruce about about how he coped with his changes, but to talk to someone so that they could try and help him cope with his new issues, providing some of the same support that Tony provided to him when he lost the use of his legs. 

  
  
  
  
  


_Tony’s arm itched._

Once Tony started talking, it was like the floodgates had opened. He talked to the therapist, not just about losing his arm, but about losing Peter on Titan; about having Pepper and gaining Morgan; about feeling like he’d lost Pepper somewhere along the way; and his whole mix of feelings about his history with Steve.

He also spoke to Bucky, learning from him about how to deal with the loss of an arm, how to cope with a mechanical arm, what feedback from the arm he had, and how it could be improved. 

  
  
  


_Tony’s arm itched._

Tony was holed up in the workshop again, but this time he wasn’t alone. Rhodey, Peter and a visiting Harley were all inside with him, with a video link to Shuri. They were poring over the schematics for Bucky’s arm, and how it was connected to his neural system. 

They discussed how to integrate the nanobots, and what additional extras Tony was going to incorporate, because of course he was going to add some features beyond that of a normal arm. 

They were all going to be his hands, as it were, while they built his new hand. 

Once they had finished, and it was safely attached, the first thing he did was hug everyone, so happy he could pick Morgan up again, and wrap Peter and Harley in his arms once more. 

There would still be bad days on the horizon, but the good ones were starting to appear more often. 

  
  


_Tony’s arm itched._

Tony’s arm itched –it always itched –but now with the biofeedback sensors in his new arm, he could at last scratch that itch. His mind wandered along that train of thought, then he surged to his feet. He had another itch to scratch, one that had been going unrelieved for far too long –one that required finding his husband right now!

**Author's Note:**

> Saw this on Tumblr and I think it's a lovely idea--feel free to copy and paste into your own fics!!  
> Emoji Key for those who don't know what to say in the comments!  
> ❤ = you wish you could kudos again  
> 😭 = I got you right in the feels  
> 🔥 = this was so hot!  
> 🐰 = it’s so fluffy


End file.
